To Israel and back, in 10 days

Traveling to Israel has been a goal of mine for years. So I jumped at the chance when our church put together a trip. Everyone I told about it asked me if I'm crazy. I figure it will never be safer.

Look, they've been fighting for thousands of years. They ought to be tired by now.

We set off January 16 for Tel Aviv. The total flight time was around 14 hours. Layovers and bus rides put our door-to-door travel time right at 24 hours. Good thing I can sleep anywhere.

Our tour was planned by Alpha Christian Tours. In 10 days we experienced:

• Tiberias
• Sea of Galilee
• Capernaum
• The Mount of Beatitudes
• Peter's Primacy
• The River Jordan Baptism Site
• Tabgah
• The Hermon River Springs
• Korizim
• Kursi
• Tel Dan
• Beth She'an
• Cana
• Meggido
• Nazareth
• Caesarea
• Haifa
• Mount Carmel
• The Mediterranean Sea
• Jerusalem
• David's Tomb
• Jerusalem Archeological Park
• The Teaching Steps
• The Via Dolorosa
• THe Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• The Western Wall
• The Dead Sea
• Masada
• Qumran
• Camel Rides
• The Church of All Nations
• The Church of Tears
• The Mount of Olives
• The Palace of Caiaphus
• Bethlehem
• The Church of the Nativity
• The Garden Tomb
• Golgotha
• The Shepherd's Field
• En Karem

Did you get all that? That is an itinerary worthy of Susan's exuberance. Thankfully the trip included only one hotel change and I didn't have to drive. We were based at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Tiberias for the first half of the trip.

The hotel has a great view of the Sea of Galilee. Unfortunately our room was on the street side. This is a view of Tiberias from our 7th floor balcony.

Here are some stats from our trip:

• Photos taken: 1527 (Susan took an additional 1051)
• Miles flown: 14000+
• Hours flown: 28+
• Highest elevation: 1742 feet
• Lowest elevation: -1340 feet

I took pretty thorough notes while our guide, Louie, described each site. I'll be writing about our trip over the next few months. The photos are the best part. I'll try to put up the best without overwhelming you and our server.